BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



BLACKBURN 



the first husband of Avice lady of Billington, and of 

 Richard son of the same Henry del Cho by a former 

 marriage, but it is clear that several small estates held 

 by these three persons and by their kinsfolk were 

 given to Beatrice de Blakeburn," who at the time of 

 her marriage to Richard son of John de Pontchardon 

 in 1280, being well advanced in years, enfeoffed her 

 father-in-law of half a dozen tenements here to- 

 gether with lands of her own inheritance in Wiswell 

 and Blackburn with a view to create a life interest in 

 favour of herself and husband and a reversion to her 

 husband's heirs.'" After his wife's death Richard de 

 Pontchardon in i 303 conveyed his manor of Chew, 

 other lands and services in the manor, with all his 

 chattels there and his land of Snodworth, to Adam 

 de Huddleston, kt.*' 



By his deed dated at Upholland in 1302 Adam de 

 Huddleston enfeoffed William younger brother of 

 Robert de Holand, kt., of the manor, who a few 

 months later re-enfeoffed Adam and Joan his wife and 

 their issue.'" Joan died not long after, leaving no 

 issue. In 1 309, Huddleston, having married Isabella 

 lady of Godested, made a settlement of the manor 

 upon himself and wife and their issue,'^ but on his 

 dying childless in 1322 his nephew Richard the son 

 of his brother John de Huddleston entered the manor 

 as next heir, and the year following enfeoffed Thomas 

 son of Geofiey le Scrop." In 1325 the manor 

 became vested in Geoffrey le Scrop, kt., by release 

 from Isabella Sir Adam's widow and other interested 

 parties." 



In 1332 the king directed the sheriff to ascertain 

 by inquest what injury might be caused to the 

 Crown by the assignment of the manor of Chew and 

 half the vill of Billington by Scrop to the Abbot and 

 convent of Whalley. The return showed that the 

 manor was held of Queen Isabella, as of the castle of 

 Clitheroe, by a yearly rent of 3<^. for all services, and 

 was worth j^20 a year. Six weeks later the royal 

 licence issued to permit the alienation in mortmain,'* 

 and the abbey came into possession of this valuable 

 estate lying almost at their doors, and containing a 

 valuable turbary and quarries of good stone suitable 

 for the new monastic buildings then in course of 



Whalley Abbey. 

 Av,ure three ^whales 

 hauriant luith crosiers 

 issuant from their mouths 

 argent. 



erection." An attempt was made in 1341 by John 



son of Richard de Huddleston to establish a title to 



the manor, but the suit was 



not successful, and the claimant 



accepted 80 marks from the 



abbot to resign his claim.™ 



The subsequent history of the 



manor is involved in that of 



the other moiety of the manor 



of Billington, which passed 



into the possession of Whalley 



by somewhat different steps. 



There is no evidence that 

 the lords of Clitheroe derived 

 any profit from the other 

 moiety of Billington beyond 

 the free rents of tenants to 

 whom it had been granted before the end of the 

 1 2th century. After the death of John de Lacy we 

 find Billington included in the lands assigned to the 

 dower of his countess Margaret in 1 241, and then 

 extended at the yearly value of 54^. ga'." — a sum 

 closely approximating to the total of 5 4J. jd. received 

 by the monks of Whalley in the 14th century from 

 this moiety of the vill.*" About the year 1287 

 Henry de Lacy Earl of Lincoln demised to ' our 

 dear bachelor,' Adam de Huddleston, for the term 

 of his life, for his good service done and yet to be 

 done, his tenements in Billington with the demesne 

 and services of free tenants, and villeinages with the 

 villeins holding them, saving the earl's free chase." 

 In 1 3 1 8 Thomas Earl of Lancaster gave to Whalley 

 the reversion of half the manor after the death of 

 Huddleston, and later in the year, after the usual 

 inquiry had been held, licence was given to Earl 

 Thomas to alienate in mortmain." Notwithstanding 

 the earl's bounty the monks were not permitted to 

 hold this moiety in peace until they had given, during 

 the abbacy of John de Lindelay, to the earl's 

 widow, the Countess Alice, 300 marks sterling 

 for this and other gifts of her ancestors." An 

 attempt to recover possession of the manor of Chew 

 was made by Miles Huddleston in 1464, but with- 

 out success." 



" Whalley Couch. 955-62. 



'"Ibid. 963-5. In 1 29 1 Richard de 

 Pontchardon recovered the manor of Chew 

 from John son of Adam de Blakeburn, 

 who had claimed the manor as kinsman 

 and heir of Beatrice. Richard stated that 

 Beatrice in her widowhood had enfeoffed 

 John de Pontchardon, who in turn en- 

 feoffed him and the said Beatrice whom 

 he had married. After his wife's death he 

 had continued in possession five years 

 until disseised ; Assize R. 1294, m. 9 d.; 

 408, m. 59 d., 102 d. 



21 Whalley Couch. 970-2. 



^"2 Ibid. 980-2. In 1318 Robert de 

 Holand, kt., demanded the manor against 

 Huddleston in the King's Court (De Banco 

 R. 225, m. 438 ; 229, m. 194 d.) on the 

 ground that William de Holand was 

 under age when enfeoffed of the manor by 

 Huddleston, and recovered it against him. 

 Immediately afterwards he re-enfeoffed 

 Huddleston for life, retaining the rever- 

 sion i Whalley Couch. 983. 



In 1 304 Adam de Huddlestonhad agrant 

 of free warren in his demesne lands in Bil- 

 lington ; Chart. R. 32 Edw. I, m. i (15). 



2s Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), ii, 2. 



2* Whalley Couch.t)%T. Possibly Sir Adam 

 was killed at the battle of Boroughbridge. 

 The inquest after his death was taken at 

 Billington on 28 May 1322. 



-^ Ibid. 989-93 ; Final Cone, ii, 60. 



*' Inq. a.q.d. file 221, no. 7 ; Cal. Pat. 

 1330—4, p. 309. Scrop's charter passed 

 at York on Wednesday after the transla- 

 tion of St. Thomas the Martyr (8 July), 

 1332, and was attested by Henry le Scrop, 

 Richard de Huddleston, Robert de Shire- 

 burne, Adam de Clitheroe, Richard de 

 Hoghton, Adam Banastre and John de 

 Downham, kts., William de Tatham, 

 parson of Witton, Thomas de Osbaldeston, 

 Gilbert de la Legh, Richard de Merclesden, 

 John son of John de Blakeburn, Oliver 

 de Stansfeld and Robert de Plesington. 

 Kuerden fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.), S 370. 

 These had been in attendance upon the 

 king at York. 



27 In 1308 Adam de Huddleston had 

 given the newly-arrived monks 120 cart- 

 loads of peat during his lifetime from 

 Billington Moor and half as much after 

 his death, the site of a peat-cote by the 

 highway on the north side of ' Beelsete- 

 nabbe,' the right to take all kinds of 

 stone in his quarries nigh to the Hermitage 



327 



on the eastern side of Billington and 

 permission to use ail the roads in the vill 

 during the close season and through his 

 demesne lands in the open season, pro- 

 vided they made good any damage com- 

 mitted ; Whalley Couch. 986. 



28 De Banco R. 327, m. 236 d.; Whalley 

 Couch. 1 005 . The interests of Dame 

 Alice relict of Richard de Huddleston, 

 kt., in respect of dower and of John de 

 Radcliffe of Ordsall and Joan his wife, 

 sister of William de Holand, in her right 

 were compounded by money payments ; 

 ibid. 1004 ; Final Cone, ii, 100. 



^^ Lanes, Inq. and Extents^ i, 158. 



30 Whalley Couch. 950. ^^ Ibid. 944. 



*2 Ibid. 937-8 J Inq, a.q.d. file 135, 

 no. I ; Cal. Pat, 13 17-21, p. 237. The 

 yearly value of the moiety was returned 

 as 66s. 8(/., and the service by which it 

 was held of the earl a sixtieth part of a 

 knight's fee. For the Huddlestons and 

 Holme Manor see Cal. Pat. 1324-7, 

 p. 214. 



83 De Banco R. 331, m. 71 ; Whalley 

 Couch. 1063. 



8^ He claimed as heir of Richard de 

 Huddleston, kt. ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 

 26, m. 22. 



